Boston Bakery Review: Mike’s Pastry (Boston, MA)

Mmmmmmm as I flip through my Boston travel pictures I’m reminded instantly of the lovely scents of baked goods at Mike’s Pastry in the North end of Boston.

I was on a walking tour of the North End one afternoon when I asked the tour guide, Michelle, why it seemed like every other person had a Mike’s Pastry box. She mentioned, well Mike’s is the place you go when you want great desserts. It’s either you like Mike’s or Modern’s baked goods when you live in Boston.

So one night after walking around town all day – I found myself starving and got on the trolley a few stops to Haymarket Subway station and walked across the street to find a place to catch some dinner. The wait for one restaurant was endless so after popping my name down I wandered over to Hanover street determined to pick up a couple of treats for my after dinner meal.

According to Mike’s Pastry’s website:

‘The streets of Boston’s North End have been in no small part defined by the ongoing legacy of Annette and Mike, their ancestors and enormous extended family and the spirit and inspiration brought to the North End of Boston by this neighbourhood-defining family.’

What do they sell? Well Italian pastry, biscotti, cakes, cookies, pies, squares, torrone, American favourites, gelati and marzipan.

I had no idea what to get when I got into the bakery. There were people everywhere and man it was overwhelming. By the time I go to the counter I saw the red velvet cupcakes just staring at me and the lemon cello cupcakes looked amazing too. There were rows and rows of cannolli’s, cakes, slices of cakes, brownies….oh man.

When the lady behind the counter asked me in a traditional Bawstin accent (tee hee) what I wanted I gave her my order and also asked her which cannolli was the most popular. She told me the chocolate chip cannolli was a hot seller. So she added that to my order too.

After my meal at the restaurant I got back to my hotel and put the kettle on. I got into bed and peeled the wrapper off the lemon cello cupcake. I bit into it and a lemon jelly oozed out of it. The cake was velvety and so fresh. The icing was very sweet but tied the cake and jelly together perfectly. I went into sugar shock after that. I don’t think I got out of bed for awhile after that and I my tea was already steeping. Ughh.

After my shower – I dove into the chocolate chip cannolli. Man, heaven. In Toronto the cannolli’s I usually buy tend to be too crunchy and the mascarpone cheese slightly hard. Mike’s cannolli’s, the pastry was soft but not too soft and the cheese was luscious. The chocolate chips were just enough and not overpowering. I ate small bites as I sipped my second tea that night. Pure joy.

When I woke up the next morning I was so tired but I remembered I still had the red velvet cupcake in the box on my desk. I picked up the cupcake and took a bite….the cake again was velvety smooth with a hint of cocoa. The icing was so overindulgent. I really should not have been having it for breakfast but nevertheless it went down quickly and man I felt like a lucky girl after it.

I wish I had more time in Boston to indulge in Mike’s goodies…but maybe it was a good thing that I discovered him on my last night in Boston. Especially for my waist line’s sake. 😉